


7.43 on the Second Wagon

by Melimelo



Series: Jonsa Twelve Days of Shipping Challenge [1]
Category: Game of Thrones (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Christmas is all around you, F/M, Fluff, Jonsa Twelve Days of Shipping, Less angsty angst that ever angsted, Meet-Cute, Trains
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-25
Updated: 2017-12-25
Packaged: 2019-02-20 14:25:30
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,216
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13148547
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Melimelo/pseuds/Melimelo
Summary: Three times a week, Sansa meets with a man on her train. Yesterday, they exchanged names at last : Jon. Jon and Sansa – has quite a ring to it doesn’t it?Now she’s waiting for her train, excited to see him again and spend her ride with him.





	7.43 on the Second Wagon

**Author's Note:**

> Hi everyone ! First, thank you so much for being curious about this fic. This is my first contribution to Twelve Days of Shipping Jonsa. The trope for today was seemingly unrequited pining. So I hope you like it, I tried to make it fluffy enough for Christmas. I tried to make the angsty bits not angst-inducing as much as I could – because it’s Christmas.
> 
> Disclaimer : I don’t own anything, or anyone.  
> Oh yes, any criticism is more than welcome (as long as basic rules of respect are respected – haha) and any return is more than more welcome.
> 
> English is not my first language. Nor is it my major. So sorry for any mistake of any kind (I’ll be more than happy to rectify them as soon as they’re shown to me).

Like every morning, Sansa’s heart drummed in her chest. She was impatient. Nothing was quick enough to her : the crosswalk, nor the teenagers walking ahead of her in the station’s corridors, nor the count of minutes before the train : 5, 4, 3… She could barely hold back from tapping her feet on the ground – people were already looking at her strangely. Or was it more the big smile spread on her face on that cold December morning. Doubt was present.

It wasn’t the fact that she was starting a new day of school or the Christmas spirit that made her so joyful. No. The highlight of her day was those 45 minutes of daily transportation with Jon. Jon – even the name only could broaden the smile on her face – and she glanced over the clock : 2 minutes remaining. 

She remembered when she noticed him for the first time. It was one month and a half ago. She dared – at last – to engage the first conversation two weeks from now and they exchanged their names the day before. They saw each other thrice a week – when Sansa’s classes started at 8.30. At first, when the only thing they were sharing were glances, then small talk, when she first sat across from him, she envisioned to take the same train every day. She, however, quickly changed her mind – judging that decision to be too desperate, borderline creepy. They did not know each other that well and she remembered all too well what her too clingy behavior had resulted with Joffrey. Moreover, Jon was reserved and the last thing she wanted was to scare him away by pressuring him too much. 

And that was okay, for even if we talk with some kind of regularity, we are only acquainted – nothing more.

She did not want to refer to him as a friend, for she did not want to scare him, but considered him as one. He was nice, since he was putting up with her nervous chatting without minding, treated her with respect and gentleness, he was a policeman – ant that showed bravery and some sense of honor. All in all, Jon was fundamentally good. And not so unpleasant to look at. Yeah – that was the understatement of the year ! Such was her train of thoughts as her locomotion arrived in station. The first door of the second wagon stopped just in front of her so Sansa rushed towards the train’s higher temperature.  
Two large steps, turn to the left, third row, window’s seat – there he is. Sansa felt her face light up at the sight of her friend – of her acquaintance – of her crush. Okay she could admit it to herself. She started to walk toward him, but faltered in her pace when she saw his surroundings.  
Since a lot of passengers got down at Sansa’s stop and she was one of the first to get in, the wagon was quite empty, as usual. The three other seats had never been occupied – that’s all that mattered. Except this morning, contrary to the eighteen other mornings, there was something wrong on the perfect picture that was Jon waiting for her. A coat – a distinctively feminine coat – was spread on the seat next to him and one of its sleeve was resting on his lap. Sansa, surprised, sat down on another seat and started to watch.  
His eyes were unseeing, fixed on a point somewhere in the darkness of the window. He was obviously deep in his thoughts. Those were seemingly quite pleasant, she remarked bitterly, for he was slightly smiling. Whatever, there’s no need to make mountains out of molehills. Hopefully, some random girl just asked him to look over her stuff. And the nice guy that he is, he agreed. Seats belong to everybody.

Her little pep-talk had worked wonders to her self-assurance. She got up, smiled again and trotted over his row.

“Hi Jon ! How is…” she started, but was rudely interrupted when she felt a bony elbow make contact with her right thigh.

“I’m so sorry, ma’am… Sam, you know better than to shove people like that. Apologize to the lady, now.”

A young woman was scolding the boy who had slightly pushed her aside. Sansa was going to dismiss the incident when her friend’s (crush’s) intervention prevented her so.

“Why don’t you come here, little Sam ?” He told the little boy while designating his own lap – Oh my God, they know one another, they’re familiar with each other. “And say sorry to Sansa”

“Sorry Ma’am.” Was “little Sam” apology, but Sansa was still undershock of the familiarity between them. Familiarity that could only mean one…

“Hi Sansa” whispered Jon, without even glancing at her.

It was the worst damper Sansa ever felt – even colder than when she realized that Joffrey slapped her intentionally. Jon was occupied with handing back her coat to the boy’s mother. She beamed at him before holding lightly his hand. Sansa felt her heart plummeting in her chest, confronted as she was with their obvious ease with one another and the perfect family painting the three of them were depicting. The boy was the spitting image of his mother, but the clear affection which Jon showed him could only mean one thing. The redheaded felt tears prickling her eyes and a bitter taste invading her mouth but she bit the inside of her cheek to prevent crying.

Stupid, what an idiot girl I am ! I can’t believe I’m never gonna retain that particular lesson. Still so naïve, a naïve little girl still today...

The near-one-hour-long ride seemed to last days. Jon introduced her “Gilly, this is Sansa, we spend our rides together sometimes”. Gilly, such a pretty name. Gilly, Jon and Sam. A pretty family where Sansa and her daydreaming had no place. Her answers stayed short, her smiles scarce and her laughs teary. The discussion soon turned away from her.

All day, she mourned her unrequited daydreamed love story. Back home, during supper, her mother noticed her morose attitude, despite of her frequent glances toward her eldest daughter, Catelyn Stark made no comment. 

The next morning, Sansa was appeased. After all, Jon owed her nothing – they had never mentioned their sentimental or familial lives. He never told her he had a son and was going to get married (Sansa noticed Gilly’s engagement ring right away) and she never told him she was a Stark or was engaged a time to Westeros ex-golden boy : Joffrey Baratheon.

She was determined to be more mature and not change her attitude : he never promised her anything, nor mention any idea regarding them – the two of them as a unit – so should know nothing of her disappointment. He’d stay a very dear friend, if not a potential boyfriend. She was mentally prepared for their daily meeting - the last one they will have before the Christmas holiday.

She was at the station two minutes before the train came, at the exact place where the first door of the second wagon would stop. But as it all happened, she chickened out and choose to enter the first wagon. She did not feel strong enough to fake smiles and cheerfulness before Gilly and their son once more. For her ride – which was endless, she did not even have some book, since she planned to spend it with Jon. She felt twice stupid for her actions : she missed time with a wonderful person because of silly second thoughts and, on top of that, she had nothing to do other than ruminating over those.

That was such a stupid move – she already missed him. She didn’t go see him when they wouldn’t see each other for two weeks. Her mood was down for the rest of her travel, but it was nothing compared to what she felt when got off the train. She was walking to the exit, her gaze automatically drawn to the lonely figure huddled against the window, beautiful grey eyes unseeing the flow of people, before stopping on her. They widened in surprise, before incomprehension and hurt showed on his features. Suddenly, shame adding to her guilt, she fixed her own blue eyes on the ground and accelerated her pace.

She spent her free time mulling over her reactions. Now that he’s seen her, he would never speak to her again. And it wouldn’t be as if he’d be wrong to do just that : she had behaved like an idiot. And now, she’d never have his heart, but she ruined her chances to have his friendship too. That he was engaged and with a child, was it worth the pain of a separation? Sansa’s heart clenched. It wasn’t surprising that someone like Jon would have found love and had a loving little family.

She should have been happy for him, happy that he never felt lonely, with that loneliness so present in nowadays world. That loneliness she was feeling even more today than she ever felt those passing weeks. She tried to put a good face on. She thought she fooled her family easily enough. 

But a soft knock at her bedroom door – a characteristic of her mom – proved her wrong. She hmm’d her welcome, not bothering to look up from her hands folded on her lap. To her slight surprise, she heard two pairs of feet tapping lightly on the carpeted floor. Both her parents stood before her, a single question on their minds. They wondered what was happening to their cheerful daughter. It did nothing to appease Sansa : the reproachful thoughts haunted her delicate features and darkened her spirit. She babbled some nonsense to her parents, not fooling them for a moment but convincing them to try again the next evening. Sleep eluded her for hours and only exhaustion made her eyes close.

The next morning, Sansa stopped thinking. When she saw him, at his usual place, she did not even wonder about his presence here, on the 8.43 train. She hesitated before sitting in front of him, her smile shy while she could not decipher his expression. She felt her throat constrict when they greeted each other and the stiffness did not disappear – for the first time. Sansa breathed in and out – a rather desperate effort to calm her nerves and braced herself for the expected reproach.

“I’m sorry about… about…” She hesitated, even more unsure in front of his reaction. He seemed surprised about her talking to him. “What happened yesterday, it was weird. It’s just – I was kind of… upset about the whole thing – about Wednesday. Gosh you must think I’m so weird. Now don’t wonder why, I’m not sure I can even. I mean you’re still here listening to me – okay I think I’m just gonna shut up now.”

Jon stared at her for a long moment, then at last answering that he didn’t understand a thing she was saying, that he took that train to give her the present he bought, that he was sorry to be the cause of whatever it was she was feeling, that he was sorry too for not including her more in the conversation – that Gilly and her fiancé thought that was rather rude.

Wait.

What?!

“Yeah, I guess it can be quite creepy from your point of view” explained Jon, obviously answering her precedent thought. Which… What is he talking about? What was that about that Sam, Gilly’s fiancé?   
“It’s just that we’ve been talking for a couple of weeks and I l-like spending time with you”  
This is it – she thought – I daydream too much and, just like Robb ttold me, I’m permanently stuck in one of them.  
“You mentioned once that you started class on hour later on Fridays than on the days we see each other so it wasn’t a stretch to figure out you’d be on the 8.43”  
He remembers – he actually remembers unimportant details about my life. That can only mean one thing !  
“I walk by this shop everyday and I thought you might like it. I wanted to give it yesterday – were I able, I swear I wouldn’t have presumed to take that train. I’m not a stalker – I’m really, really not one.”

“Jon. Jon.” Gosh his name sounded good. Everything he said just sounded so perfect. She just had to be sure. “Hold on. You and Gilly aren’t together?”

“What?”

Then he started to laugh, and a light blush appeared on his cheeks. He denied vehemently any engagement between Gilly and himself – well as vehemently as one could while laughing at the same time.

“She’s going to marry Sam – my best friend. I’m little Sam’s godfather but other than that… no.”  
The blush on his cheeks darkened, Sansa noticed happily.   
“I mean… I was wondering – maybe you and I could see each other somewhere else than on a train? If you want to, of course. I’m not sure since you thought I was with Gilly, perhaps you’ve never thought of me like that.” He chuckled one last time.

“It’d be a date? You actually want to go out with me?”

He nodded, smiling widely, still blushing.  
So she nodded too, her heart still drumming in her chest – as it did since she first saw him in the second wagon of the 7.43 train.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you again for sticking around ! See you tomorrow for those who might be interested – I’ll write something following either a Spies AU or a Keeping each other Warm Trope.
> 
> Don’t hesitate to show me whether you’ve liked or not that fic.
> 
> I’m also looking for people who share my passion for fanfiction, shipping characters together and just have fun – so feel free to say hi just for the fun of it (I promise, it’s nice, you might even smile typing it – who knows)


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